Right to Justice

The law ministry’s proposed right to justice bill will provide for speedy and cost-effective trials by laying down a 60-90 day timeline for inquiry and a three-year deadline for completion of court proceedings. The ministry is planning to table the bill during Parliament’s monsoon session, due to begin in the third week of July, and stay a step ahead of transparency activist Anna Hazare who, during his daylong fast at Rajghat on Wednesday, had announced that he would put electoral reforms and right to justice on his agenda. Law minister Veerappa Moily said, “The right to justice bill will ensure timebound justice for citizens.” Union law minister Veerappa Moily, explaining the features of the proposed right to justice bill, said, “Those with incomes below a prescribed limit will have a right to free legal services. We have already started the process of clearing pendency in courts in mission mode. By December 31, 2011, we hope to clear 40% of the pending cases.” Among the measures the bill proposes is the discharge of an accused in a traffic offence if the trial has been pending for more than two years due to non-service of summons. “In case of trial of offences compoundable under the Indian Penal Code, or any other law in force, pending for more than two years, the court shall discharge the accused if the trial has not commenced, and close the case,” the draft says. There is a provision for a person getting litigation costs in case he has been jailed for an offence and acquitted later. In such cases, the prosecuting party will have to pay the expenses. The ministry has been pushing for faster clearance of pending cases, with the law minister writing to the chief justices of HCs in April and urging them to reduce the backlog. The national litigation policy unveiled last year laid stress on alternative dispute resolution through arbitration, and underlined the importance of the government ceasing to be a “compulsive litigant”. As per figures available with the ministry, there are 27,175,254 cases pending in the country.